Talk to me about your OTTB success stories!

[TatteredDaydreamer]

It’s gloomy and starting to get colder in my neck of the woods so would love to hear tales of your OTTB’s that are now happy hunters/jumpers!

I don’t currently have my own horse and am on a bit of a riding hiatus but hope to look for a new prospect in the spring. I’m likely going to be getting something off the track again as that’s what will fit into my budget.

Any tips or suggestions to restarting would be appreciated as well. I’ll be working with a trainer and have restarted before, but always more to learn! Would love to see videos and pictures of your ponies doing their new jobs!

[skipollo]

Before and after (he greatly improved, also my riding greatly improved)

One year difference

Then

Now

Two years of hard work turned my crooked, unbalanced, scrawny guy into a very nice riding horse. We event, but I may do jumpers with him as well because most events are a 3-4 hour drive from where we live. Read a LOT, take lessons, don’t be ashamed to ask for help, be open minded, and it’s never the horse’s fault. He taught me that. If I ask fairly and I ask well, he will do, go, jump, anything anywhere I ask. Work with someone who understands and appreciates the OTTB and their background.

Since we all love photos and love sharing…

Schooling at home

Warming up at home

Beginner novice-stadium

Beginner novice-XC upbank

Beginner novice-XC table

Videos linked in my signature. There are some before/after videos as well (particularly cantering, which has been our biggest struggle.)

[Doctracy]

I had one who made an awesome fox hunter but also did well in equitation and jumping, He won the Circuit Championship in Scottsdale one year for equitation at 3 ft. He also had some placements at HITS in the 3’6" jumpers in Tucson.
I have one now who I just got and he’s 18 years old. He’s been a field hunter and eventer.

[TatteredDaydreamer]

Skip, what a lovely guy! You’ve done a great job with him!!

Keep the stories and experiences coming!

[foursocks]

My OTTB is now 17 and just did an event with his new kid- his third event, and her first one on him. They got third in a big division- I could not be more proud. She is half-leasing him and it is so wonderful to watch them having a good time together. He had a crazy, super-rough time of it for a good chunk of his life (I wrote up his story- it was in the Chronicle last year :)), and by the time he got to me a few years ago he was already older. I do the jumpers and although he is very scopey and fast, he just didn’t enjoy jump offs and would get anxious.

So I did some XC stuff on him, which he loved, and then handed him over to my friend, an event rider and trainer. She took him to a couple of events, he ate it up, and this fall we leased him out to one of her best students who clicked with him immediately. He is a big, gorgeous boy (really, truly- “stunning” is the word used a lot by others); he is a lovely dressage horse, stadium is easy, and he is at home galloping XC so it’s a perfect fit.

If we had gotten him younger, before he was messed up by his bad experiences, my trainer and I think he would have made a fabulous, elegant derby horse. And if he liked the jumpers we would have been able to do at least the High AA’s, even starting so late in his life, but he’s going to be a stellar event horse. I’m so freaking happy and proud- he’s got all of the heart in the world, and I think he epitomizes what is best about TBs.

Here is at his second event with my friend: http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a298/sproutsie/H%20and%20M_zpszsrb43tl.jpg

[TatteredDaydreamer]

Wonderful stories with wonderful horses! Keep them coming please!

[Bogie]

My OTTB hunts first flight. It was a bit of a struggle to teach him that he didn’t have to be first in the field, but once he figured out his new job he’s been great. He is still a very forward ride and not for everyone, but he’s great fun.

I

[fordtraktor]

I bought my young OTTB from one of the COTH CANTER threads. Judybigredpony went and evaluated him for me and picked him up; he was everything she said and more (thanks JBRP!). I drove 1,000 miles to get him, basically sight unseen except for a few pics on CANTER and her description on the phone, and his breeding which I liked (Deputy Minister son top and Private Account bottom, love Damascus which my other TB has as well).

I call him my tiny TB – he is small (15.2) but mighty. I just adore this horse! Every morning he gallops up to the barn for breakfast. When I ride, he gallops up to the barn ready to work. he is a joy in every way. He always shows up ready to work, and is generally quiet and easy. He is a great jumper and always tries hard to please. I originally bought him as a project, but since I’ve just decided to keep him because while he’s not the best mover in the world, he IS the best jumper I’ve had in a while and what he lacks in movement he makes up for in try. He is so personable, too – he loves attention, loves people and loves his job. You can’t replace that.

I have some great pics from Event Camp from LAZ (thanks!). I had him jumping 2’ at home and signed him up for Starter – by the end of camp the clinicians had him going over all the Novice (2’11) and even a Prelim ditch to Training coop. Scared me to death but he sailed right over game as could be, like he had wings. He is just so cool – once he figures out what I want, he delivers, ears pricked and going forward.

This horse is just awesome, I am so excited to find him. Having so much fun riding again. My older horse is amazingly talented but difficult, everything is a struggle. This horse is easy, easy, easy and fun. Love him!

Jump: https://fordtraktor.shutterfly.com/pictures/110

XC jump: https://fordtraktor.shutterfly.com/pictures/132

(Edited to delete not working links!)

[NancyM]

Which one would you like to hear about LOL? There have been SO MANY throughout the decades in my life. Some that I have kept for years and showed, others that I pass on to new owners sooner. When I worked at the track full time, there were always a few who caught my fancy, and I watched for a while, sometimes quite a while, until I could buy/acquire them. Some were free, others cost money. I never work through an “agency”, I prefer to deal direct with owners or trainers to make a purchase. Some I have ridden before buying, many just bought off their pedigree, soundness, looks, carriage, and the look in their eye.
Some became hunters, some jumpers, some kids horses or trail horses. One went on to win one of the international derbies at SM with his next owner (I just did the 4’ to 4’6" ami jumper divisions with him). Another was at one time selected as a “prospective world cup horse” by a BNT, but he failed the vet check for the purchase LOL! Pretty funny, he was a completely sound horse, and went on to jump for ANOTHER BNT until he was in his mid 20s. Ya gotta love those pre purchase vet checks. I had had him “vet checked” before I bought that one, the vet told me that his bowed tendon was fully healed without an ultrasound (he had been racing on it for two years), the five foot scar down the side of his rib cage (from running though a fence on winter turn out) was superficial (it had taken 200 stitches to close him and they hadn’t thought he would survive), and the partial cataract on one eye only cut down perhaps 10% of his vision in that eye. He had survived his 55 starts in five years of racing… go ahead and pay the $1000 for him, he should be fine.

I now ride another OTTB, one of my own. Home bred, home raised, broke, trained and conditioned at home, raced by us, won a couple of races for us, switched disciplines when we moved away from racing, and now does the ami jumpers for me in my old age. She’s brilliant. I’m lucky. I don’t know how to post pics here, but she’s only 15.2, just my size. And lovely. So soft, so courageous. She has the heart of a lion, and jumping form that makes people swoon.

TBs, especially OTTBs, are not for every rider. They require a balanced rider, a soft rider, a rider with feel. They will learn to overlook many mistakes made by a rider, to cover for those mistakes. But they will not stand for some of the things that some riders do to their mounts these days. If you can not ride, have no talent, no skill, and no experience, don’t buy one. But if you CAN ride, and want to ride the sensitive, high performance sport model, you may find that this is an excellent marketplace to purchase a brilliant athlete for whatever discipline of equine sport you are interested in.

[quietann]

fordtraktor, I couldn’t see the videos but he looks absolutely awesome over fences!

[Mondo]

I rescued mine at age 13 (him not me, LOL) out of a starvation situation. He’d raced until 8 (Methuselah for a racehorse!) and had nothing done with him after save for the occasional trail ride. I meant to rehab him and use him as a school horse (he’s that quiet) but once I got him healthy and started working him, I found that he’s a spectacular mover! Moved him to a big show barn and they all thought he was one of the spendy warmbloods. In the year I’ve had him he’s been to an eventing clinic over 4 days and did really great! He’s now schooling 1st/2nd level and will be showing next season at 1st/2nd dressage.

[JenEM]

Mine is 13 now; I got her from CANTER when she was 5. She’d been out in a field all winter and had been sat on maybe twice after coming off the track, but was the sweetest girl in the world and a trier.

One of our first rides.

We had a lot of setbacks along the way, in terms of injuries that were in no way related to being an OTTB, just the sort of things that happen, along with colic surgery, coffin bone bruise, and a weird mystery infection in her leg that took weeks of antibiotics and a trip to Morven last year to clear up.

Now, she’s done bit of everything:
Rated dressage at Training
Unrecognized events at BN
And this year we finally moved up to the 3’ Adult hunters and eq!
We tried a little jousting.
And this weekend we did our first show sidesaddle!

Versatility at it’s best! When I ride well, we do well, and are focused mostly on hunter/eq now, though I want to try more sidesaddle and the low Adult jumpers next year. My biggest tip would be to make sure there’s a good dressage/flatwork (however you prefer to think of it!) foundation, it will make everything else easier. Also don’t be afraid to let the horse tell you what he/she wants to do. I kept trying eventing, and when the horse was on, it felt great, but you could tell she it just wasn’t her thing, and I’d kept thinking hunters wasn’t. But man, once the fences went up and she actually got to jump stuff, she’d been so happy.

[King_Creole]

I don’t have a lot of time to write out my story…but I’ll try to condense it!

Way back when I was 14, my farrier at the time kept telling me about a seven year old OTTB his cousin had. He would tell me horror stories about this horse…rearing, jumping over trucks, etc. and would always finish the story with “They need a good kid’s horse. Do you want to trade Rusty?” First off, Rusty was my current show pony/trail pony/all around do anything I wanted pony. Secondly…trade for a nightmare of a horse? That was…gasp…CHESTNUT? No thanks. He did this a couple of times and finally I asked him if he would be interested in my other pony (who was an absolute angel but reached her limit with me. She needed a new kid of her own). Rusty was also at his limit show wise so I wasn’t going to progress anymore with him. Farrier said yes since he knew how good she was and I checked with my dad and bam. Horse deal done.

Couple of weeks later, I loaded my fat, sweet angel of a mare into the trailer with my grandparents and we drove two hours to pick up the new horse. Let’s just say I was less than impressed with what I saw once we got there. I had not seen the horse at all beforehand. (Internet wasn’t really popular yet. We still had bricks for phones back then too). So here I am, giving up the fat, adorable dun pony I’ve had for almost ten years for this straggly, emaciated CHESTNUT thoroughbred. He’s a bit over at the knee, been pin fired and has huge osselets on both front fetlocks. They told me his name was Slim. It was very apparent why! On the way home, I brainstormed for a new name for him b/c I sure wasn’t calling him Slim…and “Chance” popped into my head b/c I was taking a chance on this horse, sight unseen.

*disclaimer…all the other horses they had were in good condition. These people did not understand how to take care of a TB. If situation was different, I would have never left my pony there.

So I get Chance home and start feeding him and just getting used to him with some light riding. I realized quickly that he was not crazy at all! He was very shy and very sweet from day one. I didn’t start riding him a lot until I got some weight on him b/c he was very weak at the beginning. He began to trust me and gain weight and energy. I began to love his chestnut color with his flashy white face and stockings.

When I taught him to jump, he found his calling. He loved having a job but was always very nervous about messing up and making mistakes. The only bad thing he ever did was be too strong…some days from nerves, some days b/c he just wanted to work and was ready to go! He never stopped at any jump and would jump anything.

We competed up to Children’s (and later Adult) Hunter and also did Child/Adult jumpers a few times. He won the M&S Children’s Classic at the Germantown Charity in 2000. We won numerous year end awards throughout our tenure together. He became that once in a lifetime horse for me.

Chance is now 25 years old and has moved to Alabama with me when I got married earlier this year. Our BO loves him. He is always a complete gentleman. I retired him when he was 19 since he was getting arthritic and promised to keep him as sound and happy as I could for as long as I can. I started to ride him again this summer after a year of soundness and we went to our first show together in 6 years in August. We did a 2’3" division and one 2’6" eq class. It was like he never missed a beat. My BO/new trainer couldn’t believe how he acted when it was show time. He couldn’t stand still…jigged into the ring and would break into a canter while telling me “Just hold on. I know my job.” She had only seen super-quiet Chance be-bopping around…not trying to take strides out b/c these tiny jumps insult me Chance. Well we ended up with enough points that we are 7th in one division and 4th in the other for year end points. From one show. So we will be showing again next month to see if we can get anything for year end! He was the happiest horse on the show grounds that weekend…and I couldn’t have been any happier either.

Now…PICTURES!!

When I first got him (and yes I always wear a helmet now!)

http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv237/BBMcGee31/Chance1997_zpsd603a1e0.jpg

PreGreens - 1998

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=698505377695&set=a.697947206275.2461778.23407896&type=3&theater

Childrens Hunter 2000

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100129748764465&set=a.697947206275.2461778.23407896&type=3&theater

The very next week…Child/Adult Jumpers (and also my most favorite picture of us)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=698505382685&set=a.697947206275.2461778.23407896&type=3&theater

Adult Eq 2007

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=577142190495&set=a.697947206275.2461778.23407896&type=3&theater

August 2015

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10104926911402085&set=a.10104926905853205.1073741858.23407896&type=3&theater

whoa horse! lol

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10104940157446905&set=a.10104926905853205.1073741858.23407896&type=3&theater

[fordtraktor]

Thanks, quietann! I deleted the non-working links. Will try to get some video someday!

[beowulf]

We have lots of success stories… you’ll add yourself to the “book” soon too. Work with a trainer and stay patient… I always remind myself “it’s always darkest before dawn” 10000 times ESPECIALLY when we are having one of those days where it seems like we went ten steps backwards… Just remember that tomorrow you’ll start again and more often than not, will have a great ride.

Focus on the positives of the rides, not the negatives… as much as you want a beautiful soft supple horse that naturally goes into a frame it just wont happen right away… have you got a nice rhythm? Consider it a success…

Mine (Dixie Brass x Rare Brick) went from this (3 y/o crazy little imp) to this & this (sleepy training level packer)… but it did not happen overnight. Part of it is finding out what works with your new partner and figuring out “his language”. Every horse is different.

Here’s our “first” (Slew Dancer x Lost Code) success story.… raced 10 years with 70+ starts… career change to eventing and took two saddle-monkeys from their first events up to Training… He’s still with us at 22… and is just the best boy.

My current guy is improving in leaps and bounds (as am I). He’s been in work for about a little less than a year now and just has the most sensible head about him (Say Florida Sandy x Talc)… Here he was last fall , and here he is now – video – and his first show a few weeks ago here: click

[equest]

Keep the stories coming folks!
I moved to Central Florida about 1.5 years ago and I have been holding off on horse ownership as I became settled into my new job and the area. Now, I’ve been bitten by the bug, found a trainer who will support my goals, and these great stories and photos are inspiring me to keep on looking for the perfect TB for me.

[Simbalism]

I got a lovely 6yo chestnut mare just shy of two years ago. My older TB mare( 19yo bred for sport) was having some weird lameness issues that were on and off. I’m getting older, but not ready to stop riding in my 50’s. So got my mare from her owner/trainer. https://flic.kr/p/imxDri She had only raced around 9 times and then hung around as the occasional trail ride horse. For the first year, I mostly did light trail riding with her. I moved barns in June and am having the trainer spruce up her ring work since I hurt my knee right after I moved her. At 61yo, my goals for her are mainly to be my old lady horse. Doing some trail riding, maybe some very low level dressage and anything else that may come along, like team penning or parades. She is going to her first schooling show in a few weeks. A friend is riding her because her horse is injured. Mare is going to do a couple of walk/trot and go as you please classes, beginner trail, a costume class and if she is handling all this may do a couple of games classes.

[foursocks]

Do it, equest!! They are such wonderful individuals to work with- I’ve had TBs for most of my riding life. The TB heart and brain and work ethic and athletic ability are simply amazing when they all come together in one package.

I have an incredible WB along with my incredible TB and they are almost exact opposites of each other, which I find a lot of fun as a rider. The only thing I would change about my WB is maybe add in some blood closer to the top of his pedigree (he’s got a great engine but it can be a little slow to get going). Otherwise I really enjoy having a stereotypical example of each- my big, elegant TB and my round, bouncy WB. Some people like one or the other; I like both and I’m lucky enough to have them.

[IvyHall]

OTTB was all that fit into my budget as well (although I happen to be partial to them). I ended up finding a cheap 7 year old through an old connection. He had had some retraining, and while talented was very difficult.

It took a looooong time and a lot of patience to get him going but he has turned into a serious competitor in the jumper ring. I could never in a million years afford to go out and buy a horse already competing and winning at his level.

This horse has taught me a great deal about life, and about myself. We have been through a lot of difficult times together (like his cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatments) and looking back I have achieved things I never would have thought possible. I am very lucky to have him in my life.

He also happens to be stunning

http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/ivyhall1/slideshow/low%20jr%20ao%20jumpers

Best of luck in your search! OTTBs are truly amazing beasts.

http://youtu.be/2uay5srb8uQ

also we were featured on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer http://articles.philly.com/2014-05-28/news/50125486_1_devon-horse-show-calvin-chemotherapy

and in an article in the chronicle of the horse…
http://www.vet.upenn.edu/docs/default-source/new-bolton-center-hospital/nbc-internal-medicine/calvin_chronicle_horse_06-14.pdf

[TatteredDaydreamer]

I echo the posters asking for more stories! You guys all have gorgeous horses and it’s a joy yo read about your success! Will help me to get through the horseless months for sure!